Generate a hypothesis about what earthquakes have to do with plate tectonics
Time (95 minutes) Activity
45minutes
Ø Class will quickly review the big ideas from the last class. The key point to review is what causes earthquakes. Next, I will transition to a class discussion and ask the students, "How are people effected by earthquakes?" After brainstorming some ideas as a class, they will each read an article of choice. The articles will connect earthquakes to their lives, which will motivate them to learn. The class handout will be distributed, and the directions will be read. Every student will be able to pick one article from a collection of newspaper and magazine articles about earthquakes and their effects. Students will have thirty minutes to read their article and complete their handout. The class will discuss what they learned from the article and what they think about it. The handouts will be collected and reviewed by the teacher (me).
40 minutes
Ø I will transition to the next part by saying, “You have just read about one earthquake. Let’s look at a world map. You will discover how many earthquakes occur on a daily basis.”
Ø The World Map handout will be distributed and the directions will be read out loud to the class.
Ø The class will use the laptops in pairs. The http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/ website will be used plot the earthquakes of different days.
Ø Next, they will be asked to propose a hypothesis about what they observed on the map and what they learned yesterday. They must give evidence for their ideas. The goal is for the students to connect their observations of earthquakes to plate boundaries. A possible hypothesis is; the Earth’s plates are colliding in these areas, or this is where the plate boundaries are located.
15 minutes
Ø The class will store the laptops away in their carts. Then there will be a class discussion regarding some of the hypothesis they came up with and why. The students will hand in their hypothesis. This will be reviewed and feedback will be given to the students to increase understanding.
Instructional Objectives
Time (95 minutes) Activity
45minutes
Ø Class will quickly review the big ideas from the last class. The key point to review is what causes earthquakes. Next, I will transition to a class discussion and ask the students, "How are people effected by earthquakes?" After brainstorming some ideas as a class, they will each read an article of choice. The articles will connect earthquakes to their lives, which will motivate them to learn. The class handout will be distributed, and the directions will be read. Every student will be able to pick one article from a collection of newspaper and magazine articles about earthquakes and their effects. Students will have thirty minutes to read their article and complete their handout. The class will discuss what they learned from the article and what they think about it. The handouts will be collected and reviewed by the teacher (me).
40 minutes
Ø I will transition to the next part by saying, “You have just read about one earthquake. Let’s look at a world map. You will discover how many earthquakes occur on a daily basis.”
Ø The World Map handout will be distributed and the directions will be read out loud to the class.
Ø The class will use the laptops in pairs. The http://earthquake.usgs.gov/eqcenter/recenteqsww/ website will be used plot the earthquakes of different days.
Ø Next, they will be asked to propose a hypothesis about what they observed on the map and what they learned yesterday. They must give evidence for their ideas. The goal is for the students to connect their observations of earthquakes to plate boundaries. A possible hypothesis is; the Earth’s plates are colliding in these areas, or this is where the plate boundaries are located.
15 minutes
Ø The class will store the laptops away in their carts. Then there will be a class discussion regarding some of the hypothesis they came up with and why. The students will hand in their hypothesis. This will be reviewed and feedback will be given to the students to increase understanding.
Activity Materials needed-
-laptops
- collection of articles
Resources for lesson-
- world map and article handouts